21 July 2009 – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has confirmed the identities of the ten Filipino workers killed in the helicopter crash in Kandahar on July 19. 

The employer of the Filipino workers, US-based construction firm The AIM Group, Inc., furnished the names to the DFA after their families have been informed of the incident.

The Filipinos on board the aircraft which malfunctioned during takeoff and plunged to the ground were:

1.     Celso Q. Caralde (born in Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental)
2.     Ely I. Cariño (Cabusao, Camarines Sur)
3.     Ernesto C. De Vega (Naic, Cavite)
4.     Manolito C. Hornilla (Taysan, Batangas)
5.     Leopoldo G. Jimenez, Jr. (Lubao, Pampanga)
6.     Mark Joseph C. Mariano (Floridablanca, Pampanga)
7.     Marvin P. Najera (San Fernando, Pampanga)
8.     Rene D. Taboclaon (Cagayan de Oro City)
9.     Recardo E. Vallejos (Bislig, Surigao del Sur)
10.     Noli M. Visda (Lubao, Pampanga)

The helicopter was reported to be carrying three crew members and 17 passengers of varying nationalities.  Sixteen of the passengers, including the Filipinos, were killed in the crash.

The company said the next of kin for each Filipino employee have been notified of the death of their family member.  After positive identification is made of the bodies in Kandahar, these will be sent to Kuwait and then repatriated to the Philippines. 

The DFA has dispatched a team from the Philippine Embassy in Islamabad to coordinate with local authorities for the repatriation.  

 “We have several representatives in the Philippines who will ensure that the bodies are repatriated to the families,” an official from AIM said.

“Each Filipino employee and his dependent family members will be eligible for payments under Defense Base Act Insurance and other policies that are in place,” the company said.  It added that it will process the insurance claims as soon as possible and submit these to the insurance company.

Meanwhile, the company official clarified that all 10 Filipino workers were already in Afghanistan when they started working for AIM.  

DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Esteban B. Conejos, Jr. said the focus of the Philippine Government is to attend to immediate concerns which include the repatriation of the bodies and assistance that will be extended to the families.  

“Our priority now is to work closely with the employer and the relevant authorities to identify the remains and cause their repatriation and ensure that all benefits due the workers are paid to their families.  Thereafter, DFA will work with DOLE and POEA to find out how these workers ended up working in Afghanistan notwithstanding the deployment ban,” Undersecretary Conejos said.  ---END---